Modern Tapestry – Boccara

The Boccara Gallery has a unique expertise and know-how in the field of modern tapestry which allows us to present you today an exclusive selection of tapestries. You can discover this selection of the most important tapestries by artists of the XXth century such as Alexander Calder, Fernand Léger, Vassily Kandinsky, Sonia Delaunay, Victor Vasarely, Le Corbusier, Mathieu Matégot, Jean Lurçat, Emile Gilioli, Vincent Guignebert, and many others. Each piece in our selection embodies the innovative spirit and artistic vision of these 20th century masters. Daring compositions, vibrant colors and ancestral techniques combine to create true works of art that we will call "modern tapestries".

At the beginning of the XXth century, tapestry has known a new rise on the impulse of Jean Lurçat who created a dynamic around him. He revived the Aubusson workshops and brought tapestry up to date. We can absolutely speak of a school of Jean Lurçat. From this moment, many artists will be interested in tapestry and will create works especially for this support: Mathieu Matégot, Sonia Delaunay, Victor Vasarely, Alexander Calder, Fernand Léger, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Saint-Saëns, Dom Robert, André Borderie and Le Corbusier.

After the war, under the impetus of several galleries, tapestries will become even more popular and will reflect a French art of living. The greatest decorators of the world will use them and will emphasize them in unheard of decorations.
We can consider that modern tapestry has definitely taken its place in the decorative arts.

The Boccara Gallery was a pioneer in exhibiting its pieces in its galleries and salons and often in associating them with old tapestries, which gave an even greater dimension to modern tapestries.
Today we are still discovering artists who had remained in the shadow, who had not had the chance to be highlighted and the Boccara gallery is happy to participate in this revival.
You will be able to discover these tapestries in shows such as Masterpiece in London, PAD Paris, Fine Art Asia, Art Los Angeles etc.

All the tapestries of the Boccara collection are sold with their original bolducs and in excellent condition.

The tapestries are delivered with a certificate of expertise written by Didier Marien.

Bernard Cathelin

Bernard Cathelin was a French artist born in Paris in 1919. He spent much of his life exploring different countries and cultures, which influenced his painting style. Trained at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he has maintained a personal approach to painting, mainly in oil on canvas. In addition to his paintings, Cathelin was also an expert in tapestry, working in Studio 3. He has used his talent to create unique and vibrant pieces that captivate viewers. Cathelin's tapestries are filled with bright colors and rich textures that reflect his love for the landscapes and cultures he explored throughout his life. His deep love for the Drôme, the region of his maternal roots, is evident in his paintings, as well as influences from Mexico, India and Japan, where he spent time as a painter and traveler. Japanese culture has also had a significant impact on the architecture of his works, including his most recent creations.

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder is one of the most prestigious and important tapestry artists, and the Boccara Gallery is proud to present the most high-level tapestries of his collection. Alexander Calder was a major influence on art of the twentieth century, best known for his moving sculptures; but as Calder’s career matured and after his move to France, he concentrated on translating his designs to wool and silk in new, one-of-a-kind tapestries. Calder was very passionate about the ateliers in Aubusson and the masterpiece tapestries they created - reflecting his inimitable style and talent for color and form. The Boccara collection features a selection of the most important of these pieces, all in beautiful condition with bright colors, where abstract shapes create a striking effect.

Joan Miró

Joan Miró was a versatile artist who explored many mediums, including painting, sculpture and ceramics. But one of the most interesting mediums he used was textile art. Miró created several rugs and fabrics throughout his career, which helped expand his unique aesthetic into new territory.

Michel Seuphor

Fernand Berckelaers, born in Antwerp in 1901, chose the artistic pseudonym Michel Seuphor (an ingenious code for Orpheus) in 1917. Throughout his remarkable career, he excelled as an artist, critic, poet, and writer, leaving a lasting mark on the art world.

Fernand Léger

A significant part of the Boccara collection is dedicated to the works of Fernand Léger. Didier Marien has been interested in the works of this artist for a long time. The way Léger dealt with modern subjects was far ahead of his time and paved the way for contemporary art, which is why the Boccara gallery is so proud to be presenting this artist.

Jean Cocteau

Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau( French: 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the surrealist, avant-garde, and Dadaist movements; and one of the most influential figures in early 20th-century art as a whole. The National Observer suggested that, “of the artistic generation whose daring gave birth to Twentieth Century Art, Cocteau came closest to being a Renaissance man.

Victor Vasarely

La Galerie Boccara a le plaisir de compter parmi les artistes de sa collection Victor Vasarely, un artiste de renommée internationale dont les peintures optiquement complexes et illusionnistes ont conféré le statut de « grand-père » et leader du mouvement Op art.

Sonia Delaunay

The Boccara Gallery is recognized as an essential reference for its expertise in Sonia Delaunay's tapestries. As a pioneer in the development of this artist, Didier Marien has assembled an exceptional collection of her tapestries. The Boccara collection now includes some of Sonia Delaunay's most emblematic pieces, such as "Serpent Noir", "Finistère", "Contrepoint", "Diagonale", to name but a few. These works offer art lovers a unique opportunity to dive into Sonia Delaunay's captivating universe and discover the extent of her artistic talent.

Ossip Zadkine

Ossip Zadkine was a French painter and sculptor of Belarusian origin, born on February 9, 1888 in Vitebsk, Belarus, and died on November 25, 1967 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He is considered one of the greatest masters of Cubist sculpture.

Tom Wesselmann

Tom Wesselmann attended Hiram College until 1951 and then studied psychology at the University of Cincinnati. He was drafted into the army in 1952 and, in response, began to draw. He then resumed his studies, enrolling in 1954 at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and in 1956 at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. During a visit to the MOMA, he was impressed by the works of Robert Motherwell and Willem de Kooning. In 1957, he met Claire Selley, also a student at the Cooper Union, who became his model and his wife in 1963. He had 3 children.

Georges Braque

Georges Braque was born in Argenteuil in May 1882 and died in Paris in August 1963, aged 81. Born into a family of craftsmen, his penchant for art was evident from an early age. Introduced to art by his father, he continued his apprenticeship at the Académie Humbert, and later entered the École des Beaux-Arts. At the end of his training, Braque explored galleries and museums, deepening his knowledge of the great masters of his time. He soon joined the Société des Amis des Arts and exhibited his work. His art aroused keen interest from his very first exhibitions, propelling his reputation among the most eminent French painters of his generation.

Jean Lurçat

Today the Boccara Gallery presents a remarkable collection of the artist's work, who propagated an epic, poetic, symbolic and humanistic vision of the 20th century through his works and who has become a key figure in the history of tapestry. All tapestries of Jean Lurçat are handmade, and every detail is carefully studied. The Boccara Gallery is pleased to offer a panorama of works by Jean Lurçat, an artist who recently began to be discovered for his undeniable talent and innovative works.

Brassaï

Hungarian artists and writers. At night, he walked around the Montparnasse district and took photos of prostitutes, street sweepers, and other nocturnal characters, all of which were compiled in his book "Paris de Nuit" (1933). While Brassaï is famous for photographing the seedy aspects of the city, he also documented high society through ballets, operas, and intellectuals, including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Henry Matisse.

Détail de la tapisserie les Vierges Folles de Marc Saint-Saens

Marc Saint-Saëns

Boccara Gallery is pleased to count among its wide range of artists Marc Saint-Saëns, one of the most influential artists associated with the revival of French tapestry in the 1940s. His emblematic work “Les Vierges Folles” (The Foolish Virgins) marks Saint-Saëns’ true beginnings in the art of tapestry.

René Fumeron

Fumeron conceived his first humorous drawings (he made more than 500) in the 1940s, in collaboration with the Pinton workshop. He was then solicited on numerous occasions by the State before participating in the decoration of the liner "France". His work, initially figurative and influenced by Lurçat, then turned to abstraction, before returning to a style characterized by figurative and realistic colored representations from the 1980s.

Jean Picart Le Doux

Without specialized professional training, he started out in bookbinding and publishing, then turned to advertising and graphic arts and published his first works in 1935. His first tapestry cartoons date from 1943 after winning the Grand Prix for theatrical posters at the Salon de l'Imagerie. He met Jean Lurçat and, with Marc Saint-Saëns, gathered around him in 1947 for the Association of tapestry painters.

Vincent Guignebert

Vincent Guignebert In 1937, Vincent Guignebert was a student at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, then he entered the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts where he was a student in René Jaudon's workshop around 1938-1939 at the same time as Robert Wogensky (1919), who was to become his friend. In 1939, he exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, a tapestry cardboard noticed by Jean Lurçat who offered him to come and work in his studio to initiate him to this art. The Second World War interrupted his studies in 19402.

Mathieu Matégot

Boccara Gallery is pleased to present some of the most significant works by Mathieu Matégot, who was a pioneer of contemporary design. Mathieu Matégot, born in Hungary, was one of the most important internationally acclaimed French artists and designers in the mid 20th century, particularly in textile design. He was a man of many artistic skills, creating designs for furniture, stage sets, clothing and most importantly, tapestry.

Vassily Kandinsky

The Boccara Gallery presents a unique tapestry by Wassily Kandinsky. Didier Marien, the director of the Boccara Gallery has carried out an important research in the Tabard workshop in Aubusson and is pleased to present the exclusive presentation of the tapestry “Sur Fond Noir”, a unique work signed and dated by this incredible Russian artist.

Émile Gilioli

The Boccara Gallery has an important collection of Emile Gilioli’s sculptures and tapestries. Among the tapestries signed by the artist we can recognize the classical motifs that distinguish the art of this great and talented man. In these works strong colours are predominant as well as geometric motifs that create a visual balance.

Dom Robert

Dom Robert, pseudonym Guy de Chaunac-Lanzac, was a Benedictine monk, upholsterer, French painter and ceramicist. The woven work of Dom Robert includes nearly one hundred and fifty original cartoons, mostly woven in Aubusson.

Claude Dodane

Claude Dodane was an important artist and Director of School of Fine Art in Besançon. He was a family member of the Dodane family, a famous watchmaking family.

Le Corbusier

The Boccara Gallery is pleased to include in its collection Le Corbusier (1887-1965) - a highly influential architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer, a.k.a. “Father of Modernism”. Le Corbusier believed in rationally designed spaces with modern, open interiors and emphasized light. His integral approach to design and architecture dispersed his artistic interest to all domains of applied art, including textiles.

René Perrot

Boccara Gallery is pleased to present “The Great Waterfall”, a major work of René Perrot. This unique tapestry is one of the largest and most beautiful Aubusson tapestries. It is currently preserved in perfect condition in the Boccara collection.

André Borderie

André Borderie is a mid-century artist known for his geometric exercises with ceramics, with large wall murals and tapestry, juxtaposing planes and shapes, in rhythms of quiet earth tones or highly saturated oranges and golds.